the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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Isaiah 2:4
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And He will judge between the nations,And will render decisions for many peoples;And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not lift up sword against nation,And never again will they learn war.
And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
And shall geue sentence among the heathen, and shall refourme the multitude of people: they shall breake their swordes also into mattockes, and their speares to make sithes: And one people shall not lyft vp a weapon agaynst another, neither shall they learne to fyght from thencefoorth.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall reprove many peoples; and they shall forge their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-knives: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
And He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.
Then God will act as judge to end arguments between nations. He will decide what is right for people from many lands. They will stop using their weapons for war. They will hammer their swords into plows and use their spears to make tools for harvesting. All fighting between nations will end. They will never again train for war.
He will judge between the nations, And will decide concerning many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
And hee shall iudge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beate their swords into plow-shares, and their speares into pruning hookes: nation shall not lift vp sword against nation, neither shall they learne warre any more.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
and shal geue sentence amonge the heithen, and shal reforme the multitude of people: So that they shal breake their swerdes and speares, to make sythes, sycles & sawes therof. From that tyme forth shal not one people lift vp wapen agaynst another, nether shal they lerne to fight from thensforth.
And He will judge between the nations, And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples; And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up the sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever.
And he will judge among the nations, and will rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.
He will settle arguments between nations. They will pound their swords and their spears into rakes and shovels; they will never make war or attack one another.
He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war.
And he shall iudge among the nations, and rebuke many people: they shall breake their swords also into mattocks, and their speares into siethes: nation shall not lift vp a sworde against nation, neither shal they learne to fight any more.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples who are far off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
He will judge between the nations, And will decide concerning many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.
He will judge between the nations, and will decide for many people. And they will beat their swords into plows, and their spears into knives for cutting vines. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will not learn about war anymore.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into sickles: and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more.
And he shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
And he will judge between the nations, And be umpire to many peoples, - And they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, Nation - against nation, shall not lift up sword, Neither shall they learn any more to make war,
And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.
He shall judge between the nations and he shall arbitrate for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. A nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation, and they shall not learn war again.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
And He will judge between the nations, And will mediate for many peoples; And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
He will settle arguments among the nations and will make decisions for many nations. Then they will make their swords into plows and their spears into hooks for trimming trees. Nations will no longer fight other nations, nor will they train for war anymore.
He will settle disputes among great nations. They will hammer their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will never again go to war, never prepare for battle again.
He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.
And he schal deme hethene men, and he schal repreue many puplis; and thei schulen welle togidere her swerdes in to scharris, and her speris in to sikelis, ether sithes; folk schal no more reise swerd ayens folk, and thei schulen no more be exercisid to batel.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
And He hath judged between the nations, And hath given a decision to many peoples, And they have beat their swords to ploughshares, And their spears to pruning-hooks, Nation doth not lift up sword unto nation, Nor do they learn any more -- war.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
And he: Isaiah 11:3, Isaiah 11:4, 1 Samuel 2:10, Psalms 82:8, Psalms 96:13, Psalms 110:6, John 16:8-11, Acts 17:31, Revelation 19:11
and they: Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 11:6-9, Psalms 46:9, Hosea 2:18, Joel 3:10, Micah 4:3, Zechariah 9:10
pruninghooks: or, scythes
neither: Isaiah 60:17, Isaiah 60:18, Psalms 72:3-7
Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 20:12 - wilt Job 29:3 - by his light Psalms 72:7 - abundance Isaiah 11:9 - not hurt Isaiah 32:17 - quietness Isaiah 54:14 - for thou Isaiah 65:25 - shall not Jeremiah 10:7 - O King Jeremiah 23:6 - dwell Jeremiah 33:6 - and will Joel 3:12 - for James 3:17 - peaceable
Cross-References
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God blessed them: and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, look, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created Adam, in the likeness of God he made him;
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, [namely], of Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and to them were sons born after the flood.
These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood.
Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he shall judge among the nations,.... Or, "it shall judge"; either the mountain of the Lord's house, as Abarbinel thinks, that is, the church; for in the spiritual reign of Christ, in the latter day, the judgment shall be given to the saints of the most High, and they shall possess the kingdom; the power of civil government will be in their hands, and they shall judge the world; for kings will then be nursing fathers to them, and queens nursing mothers. Or the law and word of the Lord, the Gospel, which judges men now, and declares who are condemned, and who are not; and will judge them at the last day: or, "he shall judge", that is, the Messiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech interpret it; he shall be King over all the earth; the kingdoms of this world will become his, and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the earth:
and shall rebuke many people; either the church shall rebuke by her ministers, whose work it is to reprove and rebuke for and to convince of both immorality and error; or, the word preached by them, which is the means of the conviction and conversion of sinners; or, Christ by his Spirit, whose office it is to reprove and convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is a prophecy of numerous conversions among the Gentiles, in the latter day:
and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: instruments of war shall be no more used, but shall be turned into instruments of husbandry, much more advantageous and useful to mankind.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. This clearly proves that this prophecy belongs to future times; for this has never yet had its accomplishment in any sense; not in a literal sense; for though there was an universal peace all the world over, at the birth of Christ, in the times of Augustus Caesar, yet there afterwards were, as our Lord foretold there would be, wars, and rumours of wars, and nation should rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and so it has been, more or less, ever since; nor in a spiritual sense, for though Christ has made peace by the blood of his cross, and came and preached it by his ministers, and wherever the Gospel of peace takes place, it makes men of peaceable dispositions, and reconciles them, as to God and Christ, and the way of salvation by him, so to one another; and it is peace saints are called to, and, when grace is in exercise, it rules in their hearts; and yet there have been sad contentions and quarrels among the people of God, and which yet still continue; but in the latter day glory, or spiritual reign of Christ, this prophecy will be fulfilled in every sense; for after the hour of temptation is over, that shall try all the earth, after the slaying of the witnesses and their rising, after the battle at Armageddon, when the beast and false prophet will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire, there will be no more wars in the world, nor any persecution of the saints; and then will the peaceable kingdom of Christ appear, and all his subjects, and the members of his church, will live in the utmost unity and harmony together; they shall no more envy and vex one another; and of this peace there will be no end,
Psalms 72:7 these words are applied to the times of the Messiah, both by ancient q and modern r Jews.
q T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 63. 1. r R. Nachman. Disputat. cum fratre Paulo, p. 41. R. Isaac. Chizzuk Emuna, par. 1. cap. 1. p. 43, 44. Kimchi in Isa. lxv. 19.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And he shall judge - Or he shall exercise the office of a judge, or umpire. This “literally” refers to the God of Jacob Isaiah 2:3, though it is clear that the meaning is, that he will do it by the Messiah, or under his reign. One office of a judge is to decide controversies; to put an end to litigations, and thus to promote peace. The connection shows that this is the meaning here. Nations that are contending shall be brought to peace by the influence of the reign of the Messiah, and shall beat their swords into plowshares. In other words, the influence of the reign of the Messiah shall put a period to wars, and reduce contending nations to peace.
And shall rebuke - Shall “reprove” them for their contentions and strifes.
Lowth: ‘Shall work conviction in many peoples.’
Noyes: ‘He shall be a judge of the nations,
And an umpire of many kingdoms.’
He shall show them the evil of war; and by reproving them for those wicked passions which cause wars, shall promote universal peace. This the gospel everywhere does; and the tendency of it, if obeyed, would be to produce universal peace. In accordance with predictions like these, the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6; and it is said that of his peace there shall be no end; Isaiah 9:7.
And they shall beat ... - They shall change the arts of war to those of peace; or they shall abandon the pursuits of war for the mild and useful arts of husbandry; compare Psalms 46:9; Hosea 2:20. A similar prophecy is found in Zechariah 9:10. The following extracts may serve to illustrate this passage: ‘The Syrian plow, which was probably used in all the regions around, is a very simple frame, and commonly so light, that a man of moderate strength might carry it in one hand. Volney states that in Syria it is often nothing else than the branch of a tree, cut below a bifurcation, and used without wheels. The plowshare is a piece of iron, broad but not large, which tips the end of the shaft. So much does it resemble the short sword used by the ancient warriors, that it may, with very little trouble, be converted into that deadly weapon; and when the work of destruction is over, reduced again to its former shape, and applied to the purposes of agriculture.’
Their spears - Spears were much used in war. They were made of wood, with a sharpened piece of iron or other metal attached to the end. The pruning-hook, made for cutting the limbs of vines or trees, is, in like manner, a long piece of wood with a crooked knife attached to it. Hence, it was easy to convert the one into the other.
Pruning-hooks - Hooks or long knives for trimming vines. The word here, however, means anything employed in “reaping or mowing,” a sickle, or a scythe, or any instrument to “cut with,” as well as a pruning-hook. These figures, as images of peace, are often used by the prophets. Micah Micah 4:4 has added to this description of peace in Isaiah, the following:
But they shall sit
Every man under his vine,
And under his fig-tree;
And none shall make them afraid:
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
Joel Joel 3:10 has reversed the figure, and applied it to war prevailing over peace:
Beat your plowshares into swords;
And your pruning-hooks into spears.
The same emblems to represent peace, which are used here by Isaiah, also occur in pagan poets. Thus Martial; Epigr. xiv. 34:
Falx ex ense.
Pax me certa ducis placidos conflavit in usus,
Agricolae nunc sum, militis ante fui.
So Virgil; Georg. 1,507:
Squalent abductis arva colonis,
Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.
So also Ovid; Fast. 1,699:
Sarcula cessabunt, versique in pila ligones.
Nation shall not lift up ... - This is a remarkable prediction of universal peace under the gospel. The prediction is positive, that the time will come when it shall prevail. But it has not yet been fully accomplished. We may remark, however, in relation to this:
(1) That the tendency of the gospel is to promote the arts, and to produce the spirit of peace.
(2) It will dispose the nations to do right, and thus to avoid the occasions of war.
(3) It will fill the mind with horror at the scenes of cruelty and blood that war produces.
(4) It will diffuse honor around the arts of peace, and teach the nations to prize the endearments of home and country, and the sweet scenes of domestic life.
(5) Just so far as it has influence over princes and rulers, it will teach them to lay aside the passions of ambition and revenge, and the love of conquest and ‘glory,’ and indispose them to war.
(6) The tendency of things now is toward peace. The laws of nations have been established under the gospel. Difficulties can even now be adjusted by negotiation, and without a resort to arms.
(7) Wars are far less barbarous than they were formerly. The gospel has produced humanity, mildness, and some degree of justice even in war. It has put an end to the unmerciful treatment of prisoners; has prevented their being sold as slaves; has taught even belligerents not to murder women and children.
(8) Nothing remains to be done to make peace universal but to send the gospel abroad through every land. When that is done, the nations will be disposed to peace; and the prophet, therefore, has predicted the universal prevalence of peace “only” when all nations shall be brought under the influence of the gospel.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 2:4. Neither shall they learn war any more. — If wars are necessary, how deep must that fall be that renders them so! But what a reproach to humanity is the trade of war! Men are regularly instructed in it, as in any of the necessary arts.
"How to dislodge most souls from their frail shrines
By bomb, sword, ball, and bayonet, is the art
Which some call great and glorious!"
And is this a necessary part of a finished education in civilized society? O Earth! Earth! Earth!
